Training my dog for rat hunting

In October 2025, Copper and I competed in the rat hunt at the Novi Pet Expo—and he placed. I was so proud of him. We'd been training for a while, and it was great to see it pay off in a real competition setting. I got into rat hunting with my dog partly for pest control and partly because it's a real job for a terrier—they're bred for it, and they're good at it. But "natural instinct" doesn't mean you skip training. We started with basic obedience and recall. That's non-negotiable. You need a dog that will stop when you say stop and come back when called, especially around other animals and people. Then we worked on scent and focus: finding the rat, indicating, and only going in when I give the cue. It's been a learning curve for both of us. The biggest thing I've learned is patience. Some days he's dialed in; other days he's a goofball. We keep sessions short and end on a good note. If you're curious about getting started, find someone with experience—there's a lot of nuance to doing it safely and ethically.